October 31, 2003

Brazil Introduces Bill To Regulate GM Crops' Production & Sale

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's administration has introduced a bill to regulate the production and sale of genetically modified crops amid a battle over transgenic soy that pits domestic farmers against environmental authorities.

Lula's chief of staff, Jose Dirceu, unveiled the proposal, which he said would clarify the rules regulating GM crops, a hot button issue in a nation whose economy is highly dependent on agricultural exports.

"The country will be protected. Scientific progress will be ensured and so will environmental safety," Dirceu told a news conference.

The bill proposes legal conditions for research without ignoring environmental issues, he explained.

Brazil is the world's second-leading producer and exporter of soybeans, after the United States, where GM crops face virtually no restrictions.

The cultivation and sale of GM soy is banned in Brazil, exception its state Rio Grande do Sul, which borders Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, nations that allow transgenic crops.

A major portion of that state's current soy crop springs from GM seeds smuggled in from Argentina and Paraguay, and the government granted farmers there temporary permission to cultivate the transgenic varieties.

The Ministry of Agriculture has made it clear that "under no circumstances" can GM soy be sold or planted outside Rio Grande do Sul.

Farmers caught breaking that regulation will not be able to apply for loans from state-run banks or receive tax breaks, and in addition face fines of up to double the value of their harvest.

Lula's bill provides for the creation of the National Biosecurity Commission to regulate GM organisms and their products.